When Oranges are Green, Viet-Nam
Vincent: “… But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?”
Jules: “What?”
Vincent: “It’s the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over there that they got here, but it’s just – it’s just there it’s a little different”
As many of you will quickly recognize, that was a bit of dialogue between Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) in the movie Pulp Fiction. How true those words ring for almost any traveler, and not just for Europe. Discovering those little differences is part of what draws us to travel and explore. Since we’ve gotten home from our recent travels we’ve been able to catch up with some of our friends to swap stories and share moments. One of the most frequent questions they ask is, “So what was the strangest, or weirdest thing you ate?”
Simultaneously, we would both pause and think. Weird is such a relative term. We had frog legs, congealed blood, and freshwater eel, but none of that seemed weird to us. We eat that here at home. Same goes for chicken feet, gizzard, and other oddities. Inevitably, our thought lead us to the same answer, “One of the weirdest things were the oranges.”
What?!? What’s so weird about oranges?
The oranges were green. A deep, dark, lime green rind, with a center that was still a beautiful vibrant orange. The taste was sweet, similar to a tangelo, and the segments were the same as a regular orange. It was just so intriguing to be eating a green orange. It’s just another one of those “little differences” that make travel so interesting.
These are weird to us, but normal for others. Curious about why the oranges were green, we discovered a couple places giving great explanations. Check them out Here and Here. On a scarier note, after researching a bit about the green oranges, and finding this, we are damn glad we didn’t try to sneak any back into the U.S. Now you know.
“two kilo’s, please” !
So now we ask you, “What have been one of the strangest, weirdest, or “little different” things you’ve eaten in your travels?”
Previous Viet-Nam posts you might enjoy reading and viewing:
- Heading to Viet-Nam & Twitters
- Return from Viet-Nam, fresh perspectives
- An American in the family
- Pineapple peddler in Hanoi
- When Oranges are Green
- The Face – elderly woman in Hoi An
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My favorite is how in Thailand, drinks are often served in small bags. It seems ridiculous coming from the car-dominated US, but when you’re on bike or foot, it’s perfect. Bike’s don’t have cupholders, but they certainly do have handles to hang your drink from. Somehow thai iced tea tastes just a little better when served in a bag.
Horse, in France. Tasted good to me to be honest!
I think we have 🙂
In India also we have these same oranges which are green
Interesting! While I consider us adventurers in the food department, so far all I can think of is: snails (many times, love them), pigs feet (love them but have not had since I was a kid) and tripe (we both hate it).
Good question! Living in various countries I’ve eaten many things that are not on a usual US table both knowingly and often unknowingly, but the weirdest thing, probably the “ickiest” thing I ended up ingesting was boiled blood. Having just arrived in the Philippines, my first expat assignment, I sat down in the company cafeteria to a nondescript bowl of soup. A sort of light brown bowl of bland broth with what I thought were black beans. I ate a few spoonfuls and didn’t notice my American colleague’s raised eyebrow. He’d been there for months finding his way through the food maze and he knew something I didn’t.
I looked up and asked, “What kind of bean soup is this?” His response? With a chuckle and a smile, “Oh, those aren’t beans. That’s boiled pig’s blood.”
Hmm. interesting green oranges.
We unknowingly ate ‘squirrel’ in France during a multi-course dinner.
how very interesting, I thought they resemble limes. despite the link about why you can’t bring them back, I think I still dare to try one if I see it =D
Interesting! Glad you didn’t try to sneak any back, too. I’d hate to see your yard quarantined.
I always talk about silk worms being the weirdest thing I’ve eaten. They’re not bad, once you get past the idea. I had them a few times, and even cooked them (with help) once. You throw away the ones that don’t wiggle.
I’ve learned it’s best to avoid foods in Asia that are attempting to be like something typically Western, such as pizza or birthday cake. Your brain gets all set up to enjoy something that reminds you of home, but it’s always off somehow, and usually not in a good way.
We get sweet, green oranges here, too– though I’m not sure if sometimes I’m looking at mandarin oranges or tangerines. The rind is a little thinner so they might not be actual oranges.
A long time ago (er, 2004) I once ate snails in Paris. That’s about as weird as it gets for my tongue, hee 🙂